Wednesday evening July 18
Thursday evening
Tuesday evening
Preparation
Opening response
Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
A Fountain of Life and Grace
Charles Wesley
A fountain of life and grace
In Christ, our Redeemer we see:
For us, who his offers embrace,
For all, it is open and free.
Jehovah himself doth invite
To drink of his pleasures unknown
The streams of immortal delight
That flow from his heavenly throne
As soon as in him we believe,
By faith of his Spirit we take,
And, freely forgiven, receive,
The mercy for Jesus’ sake!
We gain a pure drop of his love,
The life of eternity know;
Angelical happiness prove,
And witness a heaven below
Confession of sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God,
patient and of great goodness:
I confess to you,
I confess with my whole heart
my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,
my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;
the hurts I have done to others,
and the good I have left undone.
O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;
and raise me to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Word of God
Psalm 11
Refrain:
The Lord! His throne is in heaven.
I have taken refuge in the Lord.
So how can you say to me,
“Flee to the hills like a bird
because the wicked
have already bent their bows;
they’ve already strung their arrows;
they are ready to secretly shoot
those whose heart is right”?
When the very bottom of things falls out,
what can a righteous person possibly accomplish?
But the Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord! His throne is in heaven.
His eyes see—
his vision examines all of humanity.
The Lord examines
both the righteous and the wicked;
his very being hates anyone who loves violence.
God will rain fiery coals and sulfur on the wicked;
their cups will be filled
with nothing but a scorching hot wind
because the Lord is righteous!
He loves righteous deeds.
Those whose heart is right will see God’s face.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
Refrain:
The Lord! His throne is in heaven.
Psalm prayer
God of heaven,
when the foundations are shaken
and there is no escape,
test us, but not to destruction,
look on the face of your anointed
and heal us in Jesus Christ your Son.
Psalm 12
Refrain:
You, Lord, will keep us, protecting us from this generation forever.
Help, Lord, because the godly are all gone;
the faithful have completely disappeared
from the human race!
Everyone tells lies to everyone else;
they talk with slick speech and divided hearts.
Let the Lord cut off all slick-talking lips
and every tongue that brags and brags,
that says, “We’re unbeatable with our tongues!
Who could get the best of us with lips like ours?”
But the Lord says,
“Because the poor are oppressed,
because of the groans of the needy,
I’m now standing up.
I will provide the help they are gasping for.”
The Lord’s promises are pure,
like silver that’s been refined in an oven,
purified seven times over!
You, Lord, will keep us,
protecting us from this generation forever.
The wicked roam all over the place,
while depravity is praised by human beings.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
Refrain:
You, Lord, will keep us, protecting us from this generation forever.
Psalm prayer
Lord, when faith is faint
and speech veils our intentions,
restore us by your word of power and purity,
both now and forever.
Psalm 13
Refrain:
I love the Lord because he hears my requests for mercy.
How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long will I be left to my own wits,
agony filling my heart? Daily?
How long will my enemy keep defeating me?
Look at me!
Answer me, Lord my God!
Restore sight to my eyes!
Otherwise, I’ll sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, “I won!”
My foes will rejoice over my downfall.
But I have trusted in your faithful love.
My heart will rejoice in your salvation.
Yes, I will sing to the Lord
because he has been good to me.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
Refrain:
I love the Lord because he hears my requests for mercy.
Psalm prayer
Jesus Christ, Son of God,
who passed through the dark sleep of death,
remember those who cry to you
in shame and silence and defeat
and raise them to your risen life,
for you are alive and reign forever.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 29:1-14
The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the few surviving elders among the exiles, to the priests and the prophets, and to all the people Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon from Jerusalem. The letter was sent after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the government leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and smiths had left Jerusalem. It was delivered to Babylon by Elasah, Shaphan’s son, and Gemariah, Hilkiah’s son—two men dispatched to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar by King Zedekiah.
The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims to all the exiles I have carried off from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and settle down; cultivate gardens and eat what they produce. Get married and have children; then help your sons find wives and your daughters find husbands in order that they too may have children. Increase in number there so that you don’t dwindle away. Promote the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because your future depends on its welfare.
The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Don’t let the prophets and diviners in your midst mislead you. Don’t pay attention to your dreams. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I didn’t send them, declares the Lord.
The Lord proclaims: When Babylon’s seventy years are up, I will come and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will be present for you, declares the Lord, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile, declares the Lord.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
2 Corinthians 12
It is necessary to brag, not that it does any good. I’ll move on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago. I don’t know whether it was in the body or out of the body. God knows. I know that this man was caught up into paradise and that he heard unspeakable words that were things no one is allowed to repeat. I don’t know whether it was in the body or apart from the body. God knows. I’ll brag about this man, but I won’t brag about myself, except to brag about my weaknesses.
If I did want to brag, I wouldn’t make a fool of myself because I’d tell the truth. I’m holding back from bragging so that no one will give me any more credit than what anyone sees or hears about me. I was given a thorn in my body because of the outstanding revelations I’ve received so that I wouldn’t be conceited. It’s a messenger from Satan sent to torment me so that I wouldn’t be conceited.
I pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me alone. He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.” So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me. Therefore, I’m all right with weaknesses, insults, disasters, harassments, and stressful situations for the sake of Christ, because when I’m weak, then I’m strong.
I’ve become a fool! You made me do it. Actually, I should have been commended by you. I’m not inferior to the super-apostles in any way, even though I’m a nonentity. The signs of an apostle were performed among you with continuous endurance through signs, wonders, and miracles. How were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I myself wasn’t a financial burden on you? Forgive me for this wrong!
Look, I’m ready to visit you a third time, and I won’t be a burden on you. I don’t want your things; I want you. It isn’t the children’s responsibility to save up for their parents but parents for children. I will very gladly spend and be spent for your sake. If I love you more, will you love me less?
We all know that I didn’t place a burden on you, but in spite of that you think I’m a con artist who fooled you with a trick. I haven’t taken advantage of you through any of the people I sent to you, have I? I strongly encouraged Titus to go to you and sent the brother with him. Titus didn’t take advantage of you, did he? Didn’t we live by the same Spirit? Didn’t we walk in the same footsteps?
Have you been thinking up to now that we are defending ourselves to you? Actually, we are speaking in the sight of God and in Christ. Dear friends, everything is meant to build you up. I’m afraid that maybe when I come you will be different from the way I want you to be, and that I’ll be different from the way you want me to be. I’m afraid that there might be fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, backstabbing, gossip, conceit, and disorderly conduct. I’m afraid that when I come again, my God may embarrass me in front of you. I might have to go into mourning over all the people who have sinned before and haven’t changed their hearts and lives from what they used to practice: moral corruption, sexual immorality, and doing whatever feels good.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Refrain:
You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.
With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.
Luke 1:46-55
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
Refrain:
You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.
Brief silence.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers
Thanksgiving and intercession
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs
Prayers may include the following concerns:
The social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.